Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

This is a discussion on Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390 within Motorbikes, part of the BHP India category; "But weren't you gonna buy a Versys 650 after selling the Z800 ?".
Yes, Infact I was going to book ...

Yes, Infact I was going to book the Versys the day the Z800 was sold. I had read through all of Mobike's posts, watched Powerdrift's reviews, Schumi's (Overdrive) review more than a 100 times. I even went to the extent of researching for panniers and other accessories for it. If that was planning, beat this - even when I had the Z, I ordered for the Puig frame sliders from a good friend.

"So what happened? What went wrong?"
A couple of things actually...I won't say things went wrong, but certain circumstances (other than the ones listed here) that made me change my mind.
1. The recent split between Bajaj-KTM and Kawasaki - KTM had stopped taking bookings and supporting servicing of Kawasaki bikes since Feb. The Mumbai showroom wasn't operational and there was no timeline of when the service center would be up. I didn't want to pick up a motorcycle which does not have a service backup.
2. Certain issues being faced with the Versys 650 - Had heard of the triple clamp cracking on some bikes after hitting a bump.

Considering these factors, I decided to keep the bike plans on hold for a year and use my trusted RX100 for the time being.

"So, how did the Duke 390 happen?"
Well, I never had the Duke 390 (or for that matter any other motorcycle) in mind at all for this year. The RX100 would do its duty of taking me to work and back and anywhere I wanted to go within the city. But what about out of the city? I couldn't use the RX for long rides because it is too slow. But still I never thought of getting anything. During this time , my close friend informed me about his decision to sell his Duke 390. Thought about it for a while - although, the Duke 390 didn't tick a single requirement - The only reason I decided to buy the Duke was that the bike was in IMMACULATE condition. I could also use it for long rides (he had installed a gel seat). Pillion comfort (for long rides) was not a priority for the moment so I could ignore the back seat.
So in conclusion, it was a very sudden and impulsive decision to pick the Duke 390.

"So what's special about this Duke 390?"
The most special thing worth mentioning is the condition of the bike. All my friends who seen this bike (including the number plate guy) were not ready to believe that this is a 2013 model. Its really maintained and serviced very well, always under covers and parked in a closed garage.
The motorcycle is stock - but has all the OE accessories - the hand guards, the front and rear spools and the front mud flap. Additional accessories include Philips Nightvision bulbs and a Indicator module (which has 30 different modes and function like strobe lights - he is a pilot). They really look amazing when switched on - will try and post a video of the same.

On the day of delivery

Accessories on the Duke

4923 kms onlyDetails
Model : Nov 2013
Mileage (at the time of buying) : 4923 kms
No of owners : 1
All services done at authorised KTM service centers
All accessories were purchased at the time of purchase - Hand Guards, Front and Rear Spools and Headlight windshield.

Initial Impressions
Before I give my impressions on the bike, I would like to point out that this is one of the best maintained Duke 390 that I have ever seen. Close to 3 years and the bike looks as if it's just out of the factory. Not a single scratch and paint hasn't faded yet. A very lovingly maintained motorcycle.

What I like
1. Excellent build quality - paint and finish.
2. Seat felt comfortable (possibly because the gel seat was installed)
3. Powerful 44 BHP engine enough for city and highway rides.
4. Digital Console - is very informative.
5. Love the rear swingarm. It's really a work of art.
6. Light weight and easily flickable.
7. Good list of accessories that the bike came with - hand guards, spooks, engine guards.
8. Coolant tank is easily accessible without opening the tank.

What I don't like
1. Seating Position - I find it a bit difficult with the upright seating position and the footrests being rear sets.
2. Heating Issues (Obviously) - Bike heats more than my Z800.
3. Wife also found it more comfortable to perch onto the Duke than the Z. Rear seat comfort was also better than the Z and not as high.
4. Fuel Tank capacity - approx 10-10.5 Litres means you have to keep refueling.
5. The sound. Yes how did I miss that. I don't know what others feel - but according to me the Duke sounds like a Tata Ace.
6. Side stand - I feel this is the worst side stand I have ever seen on any motorcycle. The angle of the side stand is such that the bike remains upright when parked. Also it's difficult sometimes to pull the stand down even if the motorcycle is tilted a bit towards the left. Bad design, I would say. I also had difficulties in swinging my leg over the bike with the tail bag in place. If the lean angle was more, the bike would be much lower and hence easier to get onto.

Riding Impression
I haven't ridden the bike enough to post a riding impression. But below are some of my findings on short rides within the city
1. Bike gets heated too quickly and are easily felt on the legs. Now I know what you mean by "tandoori thighs".
2. Shut down a couple of times when it I suddenly slowed down to a halt (Street Triple effect). But have learnt to keep the throttle on slightly so it doesn't switch off.
3. When I ride for a few seconds in 3rd - I hear a swish swish sound from under the bike. Feels like the chain rubbing against the chain cover. But I am not sure.
4. The gear shifts are smooth and slick. First always engaged with a clunk and the rest of the five gears are smooth. In city traffic , you cannot go above 2 gear. And in bumper to bumper you have to be only in first gear. In this one month that I had this bike, I have very rarely taken it on 5th and 6th. The gear indicator does really help in keeping what gear you are in.

On long rides
Finally after 2 months, I finally got to take the KTM out for a ride to Lonavala (where else). The impressions that I had that the bike would be uncomfortable on long rides completely vanished within an hour of riding it. We left at 430 in the morning to escape the morning heat. It was my first ride with the KTM, the new Bell Qualifier helmet and the Nelson Riggs tail bag. The Bell was bought as a replacement to the LS2 for long rides on the Z800 (which is sold). The Nelson Riggs bag was bought to use on the Kawasaki Versys 650 (which I never bought). It all felt so funny. Anyways coming to the Duke - I was surprised that the Duke was really comfortable - more than I had expected. The overall ergonomics we're good, seats were soft (probably because of the gel seat). Only thing I found uncomfortable was the leg position where I found it difficult to stand even for a few seconds when I got tired. It may sound funny, but I was more comfortable and stress free riding this bike fast than riding the Z. As you know I don't ride fast - always hover around 80-100 and it was very easy to do it on the Duke. I think it was more due to the light weight if the bike and my lack of confidence in riding a big bike.

The ride consisted of the D390, CL500, Speed Triple and a Tiger (no guesses for which is my favorite). Needless to say the Speed and the Tiger disappeared into the horizon and it was me and my younger brother on the Duke and CL riding at our comfort pace. On many occasions we exchanged bikes whenever we took a short break. Riding both the CL500 and the D390 back to back, it was easy to figure why the Duke is used very often for long rides / touring. It can cruise at triple digits speeds all day long and can do it very effortlessly. Obviously the RE is slower and more comfortable and in a different class altogether. I couldn't decide which one do we better than the other but I really enjoyed the KTM more because it had better brakes and ABS too. Handling wise also it's much better than the RE. Where the RE scored was on comfort - I don't think any motorcycle can match it.

The mirrors are a bit if a disappointment though with limited visibility especially when you are wearing a jacket. The movement fore and aft also is very restricted. May need a set of mirror extenders. May try Handlebar risers too and see if they are more comfortable.

On a mileage front - its pretty good to - gulping around 7.67 litres for 215kms which is around 29 kmpl. The only concern is a very small tank capacity which means multiple fuel stops. Within the city, the mileage dropped to around 20 kmpl - which I feel is too low. But again probably because my travel route is a mix of stop-go and open roads.

Immediate plans for the bike :1. A full service - it was almost a year since my friend had done the last paid service. But the bike wasn't even run for 500 kms from the last service. So I thought I'll get all the fluids and filters changed. Had heard a good reviews of the KTM Andheri East service center (Ahuja Automobiles), so took the bike there. Took the bike in at 5300 kms and had the oil changed, coolant topped up, brake pads cleaned, oil, fuel and air filter replaced. All in all the service cost came up to a decent Rs 2500 of which Rs 750 was labour.

A couple of observations- the "swish swish" sound was apparently from the front break pads and not the chain. Had a chat with another Duke and he mentioned too that he facing the same issues. The pads were cleaned and the sound has reduced but not eliminated.

After the oil change the bike is running a bit cooler. Even in heavy traffic the temperature did not rise enjoy to activate the fan. The bike is now smooth and sounds more refined and slightly muted.

2. A decent tail tidy kit- don't like the extra long rear mudguard.

3. A tail bag - have fitted a Nelson Riggs tail bag that mounts onto the rear seat. Fits perfectly like a glove and the best part is it is tail mounted and you don't have any straps and cords hanging outside. So looks much neater and feels like a part of the bike.

Ordered the bag from RevZilla and a friend helped in getting it here. The bag comes with 4 set of short straps which can be used to mount the bag to the rear seat (only 2 required) and one set of long straps Incase it needs to be mounted on the tail. It also came with a waterproof cover and the instruction manual.

Open the bag and it has a medium size main compartment which can be used to hold a first aid kit, clothes etc.

There is a mesh pocket under the lid (almost the size of the lid) which can be used to store documents. Above that there is also a small pen / pencil holder.

4. Changing the front / rear number plates. Being a pilot, my friend had a customized Boeing plate / registration on the Duke and wanted to keep those plates as a remembrance. So I have installed new plates at the rear (similar to the Z buy with an orange sticker). The number plate guy made a mistake and put the initials as DZ instead of DF which has been corrected.

5. Removal of the Tyre hugger / mud flap. For 2 reasons - it looks better without it and also having the mud flap makes it difficult to clean the wheels / tyres. Will probably fit it back during the monsoons.

6. Bar end indicators (just because they look cool).

Nostalgia? - not exactly. A rare pic of the Duke and the Z taken on one of our breakfast rides 2 years ago. Who knew then that the Duke would one day replace the Z.

Thank you all for reading through - will post more pics over the weekend. Now have a huge task of going through the Duke 390 Ownership thread.

re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Congrats ! And hats off to your friend for having maintained it like this. Some guys get lucky with such fine examples - a recent example being a cousin's friend who found a Bullet 350 Classic, '15 model with 6000 on the odo. He snapped it up the same day, even though the bike was in a different city.

Quote:

Originally Posted by v12

What I don't like
3. Wife also found it more comfortable to perch onto the Duke than the Z. Rear seat comfort was also better than the Z and not as high.

You really dont like this ? ?

Quote:

5. Removal of the Tyre hugger / mud flap. For 2 reasons - it looks better without it and also having the mud flap makes it difficult to clean the wheels / tyres. Will probably fit it back during the monsoons. Attachment 1624294

On the contrary, I feel that even this half hugger is insufficient. Have seen bikes with these, yet having lot of muck in the area in front of the hugger, towards the shockx. Without this, your bike is going to have a lot more muck and shit on the underside of the seat - where I guess that bag will be.

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Great report mate! Even I'm always thinking about getting a pre worshiped Duke 390 as a daily driver and keep my harley only for long rides. I love the design and the power to weight ratio and in it looks awesome in monochrome matt grey wrap. (Also helps that these are just 1-1.2 lakhs to buy extreme vfm).But too difficult to convince wify - she says why one more bike? That I could use that same cash to run and maintain the harley for 5 more years-hard to argue with a woman

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Allen : Congrats on the Duke 390 and pretty neat observations of what you like and what you dont

I know Duke is a legend in it's own right for it's powerful engine and flickable abilities but, moving away from Z800 for this bike is little hard to fathom

Since you were already in middle of the ownership of Z800, you should have retained it and strive to ride more (which I think was the primary reason for you to sell it)

I have ridden the D200, D390 on a few occasions for a short distance and due to my large personality it never impressed me and that engine like your rightly said was one of the sore reason and other being it's extreme compact size. It would have been an awesome bike during my teen days

When I was servicing my Versys for 12K kms service I got a chance to ride the new RC390 for a small distance and some observations

I started the bike and was about to start riding and the heat that I felt coming from the engine was simply unbearable. Imagine this with a cold start

Seats look narrow on RC390 and I was confident I will never be able to perch myself onto that puny seat. But, the seating position was quite comfortable

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor

Congrats ! And hats off to your friend for having maintained it like this. Some guys get lucky with such fine examples - a recent example being a cousin's friend who found a Bullet 350 Classic, '15 model with 6000 on the odo. He snapped it up the same day, even though the bike was in a different city.

You really dont like this ? ?
On the contrary, I feel that even this half hugger is insufficient. Have seen bikes with these, yet having lot of muck in the area in front of the hugger, towards the shockx. Without this, your bike is going to have a lot more muck and shit on the underside of the seat - where I guess that bag will be.

Thanks Condor! True - it is indeed difficult to get a well maintained bike like this. One of the main reasons I went it for it even though a Duke was not on my list at all.

Oh yes and the point about rear seat comfort should go into the "What I like section"

The rear hugger - am sure will be useful and will not throw muck / water onto the riders / pillions back since it is covers the tyre entirely. But that's to be seen during the monsoon. I will be fitting it back and plan to put the rear shock cover too to prevent muck accumulating there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mh09ad5578

Great report mate! Even I'm always thinking about getting a pre worshiped Duke 390 as a daily driver and keep my harley only for long rides. I love the design and the power to weight ratio and in it looks awesome in monochrome matt grey wrap. (Also helps that these are just 1-1.2 lakhs to buy extreme vfm).But too difficult to convince wify - she says why one more bike? That I could use that same cash to run and maintain the harley for 5 more years-hard to argue with a woman

It does make a lot of sense MH - you cannot use the Harley or most of the big bikes within the city due to traffic and heating issues. You cannot park them and leave them behind on the street or in any parking lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Allen : Congrats on the Duke 390 and pretty neat observations of what you like and what you dont

I know Duke is a legend in it's own right for it's powerful engine and flickable abilities but, moving away from Z800 for this bike is little hard to fathom

Since you were already in middle of the ownership of Z800, you should have retained it and strive to ride more (which I think was the primary reason for you to sell it)

I have ridden the D200, D390 on a few occasions for a short distance and due to my large personality it never impressed me and that engine like your rightly said was one of the sore reason and other being it's extreme compact size. It would have been an awesome bike during my teen days

When I was servicing my Versys for 12K kms service I got a chance to ride the new RC390 for a small distance and some observations

I started the bike and was about to start riding and the heat that I felt coming from the engine was simply unbearable. Imagine this with a cold start

Seats look narrow on RC390 and I was confident I will never be able to perch myself onto that puny seat. But, the seating position was quite comfortable

Power delivery was nice and crisp

Overall, it's a nice bike for folks looking at a VFM pocket rocket

Hope you will ride this one longer and harder...Enjoy and Ride Safe !

Thanks for the wishes Avi and for being patient enough to answer all my V650 related queries. Its not in vain - don't worry - the V650/Tiger is still at the back of my mind. The Duke is just a phase - currently to fill in the gap while I wait patiently and make up my mind.

Agreed that the RC200/390 would not be comfortable for tall / huge riders - but being 6 ft - I find the Duke quite comfortable (not more than the Enfield though). The heating issue is there and am sure will always be there - due to the placement of the headers.

This maybe a stupid question - do you think it would be a good idea to use some heat insulation material like Dynamat to block off the heat from getting to the riders legs? I am seriously considering this option - but want to know the pros and cons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Congrats V12!

What a surprise it was to me?! I am penning down my own pre-owned 390 review since wednesday, and I see your thread on the homepage.

Your bike looks brand new! Wishing you a lot of happy, safe miles on it!

Thank you Prasanna! Waiting for your review to be up - till then you cold post some details and pics of your D390 here too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Congratulations on the 390 V12!

Kyani is surely a great place for a breakfast ride, puts breakfast in the right perspective

I am surprised you find the 390 more comfortable on your back than the Z800. I find the ride quality of the previous generation 390 to be hard and the Z very comfortable.

Enjoy your new toy and look forward to regular updates.

Ride safe.

Cheers

Thanks Cyborg! Yes regarding the suspension - it is a bit stiff compared to the Z800 - but I was talking about the the seating position more than the suspension. And yes, within the city - Kayani's is a very good place for short morning ride & breakfast.

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Any day to help you out dude! Knowing your riding style, Versys would have been a perfect bike for you so surprised that you decided against it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by v12

This maybe a stupid question - do you think it would be a good idea to use some heat insulation material like Dynamat to block off the heat from getting to the riders legs? I am seriously considering this option - but want to know the pros and cons.

Dynamat is a sound insulation material and will not help in warding off heat

Only solution is to wear thick jeans and keep your legs spread wide to get away from the engine heat (Though in traffic, that's not an option)

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Thanks Avi!

Decided against the Versys only for the time being due to the Kawasaki-Bajaj fiasco. Things are back to normal now I know and in addition to it there are a lot of bikes coming into the market this year / early next year probably. So keeping my options open now (V650, VStrom 650, used Tiger etc).

Regarding Dynamat - yes they are primarily manufacturers for sound insulation materials, but I have heard they are pretty good at insulating heat as well. Not sure to what extent - any other heat insulating / absorbing materials that anyone has used?

Re: Impulsive Decision: From the Z800 to a pre-worshipped KTM Duke 390

Congrats on the new ride, wish you happy miles ahead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by v12

Have read good reviews on the RTR mirrors and the being a direct fit. Do these rattle or become loose on rides?

There are mixed reviews on this regard, but from my experience YES they tend to get loosen and rattle after a brief usage. You can get them fixed by tightening the 3 screws on the pivot point. It does help for sure.

Can someone help me with the following?
- Which are the best mirrors for visibility? Have read good reviews on the RTR mirrors and the being a direct fit. Do these rattle or become loose on rides?

- Instead of a Tail tidy, is it possible to fit the rear number plate unit of the RC390 onto the Duke?

I'm using RTR mirrors on my D390. It has been there for more than a year. In fact they feel way more solid in build compared to the stock mirrors and does provide a significant improvement in field of view. Rattles are certainly lesser compared to stock mirrors